Yamaha MT-15 set to launch in India on March 15

Yamaha MT 15 | The Yamaha MT 15, just like its bigger siblings, the MT 07 and the MT 09 is known for handling and performance on the streets. It even received the Bike of the Year Award in the 160cc category at the Bike India Awards 2020. Powering the bike is a 155cc engine that makes 18.5 PS and 13.9 Nm.

The MT-07 and MT-09 have garnered a huge fan base across the world and Yamaha is now getting all ready to launch its much smaller sibling, the MT-15 in India.

With a likely launch date of March 15, the MT-15 takes its design inspiration from the MT-07 and is based on Yamaha's extremely popular R15.

The MT-15 is gearing up to be the most premium 150cc motorcycle in India, and dealerships have already started accepting bookings for a token amount of Rs 5,000.

The approval document for the MT-15 from the Government of Delhi's Transport Authority was leaked recently, which gave a fair idea of the bike's capabilities. Sporting the same engine as the R15, the 155cc single-cylinder can churn out 19 PS of power and 15 Nm of torque. However, expect Yamaha to tweak the tuning a little bit to fall more in line with the bike's purpose.

Most of the design cues remain the same as the one on the Indonesian spec motorcycle, but spied images do show some changes. The front suspension for instance, unlike the upside down forks in Indonesia, the India-spec MT-15 gets conventional telescopic suspension. The rear swingarm too is a box section, unlike the R15's cast-aluminium swingarm.

With a wheelbase of 1,355 mm, the bike stands at 2,020 mm in length, 800 mm in width and 1,070 mm in height. These dimensions are also different from the Indonesian bike and this done keeping the Indian market in mind and to lower costs. Dual channel ABS will come standard on the bike.

In terms of rivals, the MT-15 will go up against the likes of the Suzuki Gixxer and the newly launched KTM 125 Duke. With the Yamaha R15 priced at Rs 1.39 lakh, the MT-15 could see a price as low as Rs 1.2 lakh (ex-showroom).